Forgery Laws and Penalties

The penalty for forgery, counterfeiting or, altering documents and instruments often varies according to the type of document altered, with important government documents at the top of the penalty list.

Forgery (also known as "uttering a false instrument") is a serious
offense, punishable as a felony in all fifty states and by the federal
government. Forgery involves the making, altering, use, or possession of
a false writing in order to commit a fraud. It can occur in many forms,
from signing another person's name on a check to falsifying one's own
academic transcript. When the subject of forgery is currency, it is also
called counterfeiting.

Our society relies heavily on the
ability to produce and exchange legitimate and trustworthy documents. Forged documents can have
serious and far-reaching negative consequences on businesses,
individuals, and political entities. This is why forgery is punished harshly.

Traditionally, the crime of
forgery consisted only of making or altering a false writing.
Possessing, using, or offering a false writing with the intent to
defraud was a separate offense, known as "uttering a forged instrument."
For example, if someone used a false identification card in order to
obtain a line of credit, he would be guilty of uttering a forged instrument, even if he did
not actually make the false ID card. Today, most states treat both
offenses as the single crime of forgery.

What is Forgery?

To
secure a conviction of forgery, the prosecution must prove several elements, or
factors. These include the following.

Making, altering, using, or possessing

The
first element of forgery is that a person must make, alter, use, or
possess a false writing. When they think of
forgery, many people think only of making false
writings, such as forging letters or certificates, but altering an existing writing may also be forgery if the
alteration is "material," or affects a legal right. For example, forging
another person's signature on a document is a material alteration
because it misrepresents the identity of the person who signed the
document, which has serious legal consequences. Deleting, adding, or
changing significant portions of documents may also be "material"
alterations, if these changes affect the legal rights or obligations
represented in the documents. Additionally, as discussed above, using or
possessing false writings also constitutes forgery, although in some
jurisdictions this is known as "uttering a forged instrument."

A false writing

Not
all writings meet the definition of forgery. To serve as the basis for
forgery charges, the writing in question must have both legal
significance and be false, as discussed below.

The writing must have apparent legal significance.
In order to be punishable as forgery, the writing in question must have
apparent legal significance. This includes government-issued documents
such as drivers' licenses and passports; transactional documents such as
deeds, conveyances, and receipts; financial instruments such as
currencies, checks, or stock certificates; and other documents such as
wills, patents, medical prescriptions, and works of art.

To have
legal significance, a document need not necessarily be a legal or
government-issued document--it must simply affect legal rights and
obligations. For this reason, documents such as letters of
recommendation or notes from physicians may also be the subjects of
forgery. In contrast, signing another person's name to a letter to a
friend would probably not constitute forgery, because in most cases it
would not have legal significance.

The writing must be false.
To be considered false, the writing itself must be fabricated or
materially altered so that it purports to be or represent something that
it is actually not. Generally, simply inserting false statements into a
writing is not enough to meet this requirement, if those
misrepresentations do not change the fundamental meaning of the writing
itself. For example, if you insert a false statement into a letter you
wrote, you have not committed forgery. However, it is forgery if you
write a letter of legal significance, but present it as a letter written
by someone else.

With the intent to defraud

In order to
be guilty of forgery, the defendant must have intended to defraud
someone or some entity, such as a government agency (though the fraud
need not have been completed). This element prevents people who possess
or sign fraudulent documents, without knowing that the documents are
false, from being subject to criminal liability. For instance, if you
purchase a used car, but later find out that the title to the car was
forged by the seller, you would not be subject to forgery charges for
the possession of the forged title because you had no intent to defraud.

Federal Anti-Forgery Laws

Although
forgery is most commonly prosecuted at the state level, certain types
of forgery are also considered felonies under federal law. For example,
identity theft, a type of forgery wherein a person forges a writing in
order to assume the identity of another, is a felony under federal law,
punishable by a fine and many years' imprisonment. Federal law
also prohibits other types of forgery, such as counterfeiting money;
forging federal documents like immigration documents or military
discharge certificates; or forgery intended to defraud the federal
government. Forgery also automatically becomes a federal offense if a
forged document is carried or mailed across interstate lines, or if the
forgery occurs in multiple states.

Common Penalties for Forgery Offenses

Forgery
is considered a felony in all fifty states, and is punishable by a
range of penalties including jail or prison time, significant fines,
probation, and restitution (compensating the victim for money or goods
stolen as a result of the forgery). Some states, however, consider
certain types of forgery misdemeanor offenses only, which are punished
more leniently than felony offenses (with a maximum incarceration period
of one year in most states).

State laws provide a wide range of penalties for
forgery crimes, so judges can determine the most appropriate punishment
for a given crime. For example, in Oregon, the penalties for forgery may
range from probation and community service (for a misdemeanor forgery
offense), to five years in prison and a $125,000 fine (for a felony
forgery offense). In Minnesota, penalties for check forgery vary
according to the amount of money at stake. Forging checks of $250 or
less is punishable by up to one year in jail and a $3,000 fine; but when
the amount of the check exceeds $250, the penalty increases to up to
five years in prison and a $10,000 fine.

Many states focus on the
type of documents at issue when determining the applicable punishment.
In New York, for example, a forgery is classified as “first degree
forgery” when the forged instrument is currency, securities, stocks, or
bonds. Second degree forgery involves deeds, government-issued
documents, public records, or medical prescriptions. Third degree
forgery involves any other types of documents. Both first and second
degree forgeries are felonies, while third degree forgery is a
misdemeanor.

Additional Information

Getting Help When Charged with Forgery

If you
are charged with forgery, consider consulting a local criminal defense
attorney as early as possible in your case. An experienced attorney can
help you understand the laws governing forgery in your state, evaluate
the strength of the evidence against you, counsel you on defenses you
may raise, explain your options and the possible outcomes of each, and
protect your rights.